So…why would any­one vol­un­tar­ily attend a sem­inar on Admin­is­tra­tion and Book-keeping in Renais­sance and Early Mod­ern Italy? Even the lec­turer was sur­prised by the turnout. Stand­ing room only at Vic­toria Uni­ver­sity. The work­shop was very fas­cin­at­ing and a use­ful look at the ori­gins of the double entry sys­tem of book-keeping. Dr. Mauro Car­boni gave an enthu­si­astic and extremely step-by-step and logical look at the fin­an­cial records of the Monte di Peita of Bologna. As it turns out when you say busi­ness terms in Italian they sound much more exotic. Partitorum (Minute Book), Vade­mecum (Admin­is­trator), Pri­ore (Chair­man), Eco­nomo (Chief Admin­is­trator), Com­pi­on­eri (Chief Book­keeper), Quaderni di cassa (Day­book). Aren’t these great? Ser­i­ously, the rationale for devel­op­ment of the ela­bour­ate sys­tem of fin­an­cial records that we are so famil­iar with today wasn’t always so com­mon. This short work­shop provided some remark­able insight on the need to stem rampant embez­zle­ment and provide busi­ness­men with the abil­ity to imme­di­ately be able to determ­ine the fin­an­cial health of their enter­prises.